Verulam rape case back in court
The man accused of raping his stepdaughter more than 900 times will be back in the Verulam Magistrate's Court, north of Durban today -- his first appearance of the year.
The 43-year-old is facing charges of rape, sexual assault, grooming and exposing a child to pornography.
The case was meant to continue last week, but proceedings were brought to a halt when the audio visual link stopped working.
In his last appearance, the court heard that the State was still busy interviewing the 10-year-old girl, preparing her for trial.
The court heard that the psychologist's report was still outstanding, as were DNA results.
The little girl continues to attend weekly sessions with a psychologist, remains in a place of safety and has also been placed in a school.
The abuse is believed to have started after her mother passed away 6-years-ago.
The case sparked outrage in June when the community found out that the man had allegedly kept the girl captive in a room and raped her over a 5-year period.
The case was meant to continue last week, but proceedings were brought to a halt when the audio visual link stopped working.
The court ruled that the accused would need to physically appear in the dock today.
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In his last appearance, the court heard that the State was still busy interviewing the 10-year-old girl, preparing her for trial.
The court heard that the psychologist's report was still outstanding, as were DNA results.
The little girl continues to attend weekly sessions with a psychologist, remains in a place of safety and has also been placed in a school.
The abuse is believed to have started after her mother passed away 6-years-ago.
The case sparked outrage in June when the community found out that the man had allegedly kept the girl captive in a room and raped her over a 5-year period.